Determination: The Trial by Glass
by Kender20
Summary: Oneshot. In order to free himself and his friends from the Temple of Shadows, Atem must walk barefoot upon shards of broken glass. But with the glass path 15 meters, 50 ft., long, does he have what it takes to bear the pain?


Disclaimer: I do Not own Yu-Gi-Oh

Determination: the Trial by Glass

The room was lit with the glowing Sennen Eye that was carved on the wall. Atem sighed. After so many trials in this challenge, he made it this far. He now looked upon the invisible barrier that contained his friends, who were watching him, worry in their eyes. And no wonder; the clothes he wore in Battle City were torn in various parts of his body, revealing where he was slashed. The bleeding wounds were healed, but these clothes were proof of the suffering in the tests that a mysterious woman challenged him to do alone. Now he has one more challenge that he must complete, one more test to pass, and he cringed at the thought of what was revealed to him: 

He was to walk, barefoot, over a long carpet of broken glass! 

Atem looks down at the floor where the shards lay. There were hieroglyphs engraved in the 15-meter platform that surrounded these glittering pieces. The platform itself was not raised, but instead blends with the floor he now stands on. The glass shards within each sparkled like diamonds, but Atem noted that their edges and points are razor sharp, like thousands of crystal knife blades. His eyes then shifted to his naked feet. Now he knew why he was told to remove his boots and socks before he even began the series of challenges he went through. Soon his thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of young woman, hidden under a cloak, but obviously beautiful. 

"Atem..." she called to him. "Before you begin, I have much to tell you." 

"I'm listening." Atem replied. He knew she was the one who brought him to this point in the first place. The woman continued, 

"With each and every step you take on these shards of glass, they will stab your feet with no sign of mercy. You will feel the shards cut your feet, and you will leave a trail of blood behind you. Indeed, with so many delicate razors beneath your feet, you will certainly suffer excruciating pain. That pain will grow more intense the farther you walk." Again, Atem cringed. 

"However," she stated, "you must never leave the shards before you reach the other side of the path, no matter how much they hurt your feet. If you do, you fail the challenge and you will never see your friends again. Furthermore, as proof of failure, the pain will be permanent even after the wounds heal." He grew pale at the thought of those consequences. If he fails, he will be trapped forever in this Temple of Shadows, and his friends trapped with him. Jou, Honda, Otogi, Anzu...and Yugi, his other self… they were as shocked as he was… If he fails, they would be separated and lost, never to find each other again. Even he would wander aimlessly, alone, and in sorrow, and he would be in eternal agony with literally every step. Nevertheless Atem pushed those thoughts aside and regained his composure. 

"I understand." he said. He then padded toward the platform, under the watch of this cloaked woman. She stared at him with eyes that pierced into his soul. 

"Are you ready?" she asked him. 

"I am." was his reply. 

"Then you may begin." 

_This is it ,_ he thought, _It's now or never._ Atem looked down at the shards, took a deep breath, and moved his left foot onto the shards. At first, it barely touched the pieces, but then he allowed himself to, slowly, place his full weight onto his foot. It was then that he was pressing on these sharp edges, which made many cracking sounds, until—Ouch! Before he knew it the shards had managed to cut the flesh on his foot. Pain soon followed. He gasped, then flinched immediately, his eyes shut tight and teeth gritting. Then he emitted a hiss. Atem was expecting the pain, yet he never imagined that it would be this terrible! When he opened his eyes again, he looked down. Even as the pain seared through his foot, he could feel something wet and warm trickle under it. Blood. And tiny rivers of blood began to flow into view. That made his heart beat with fear. From behind the barrier, he heard his friends gasp in fear. 

" Aw man! An' I thought it hurts to walk on hot coals!" he heard Jou mutter. 

" What made you think it hurts more to walk on shattered pieces of glass?" Asked Honda. Jou turned to yell at his friend. 

" Don't you remember Honda?! Who actually walked on red-hot coals with bare feet to prove his love to Mai? Me, dat's who! Dey may have no burns now, but on dat night, da soles of my own feet got scorched! An' dey hurt man!" 

" You're lucky Atem gave you that amulet of protection," Yugi said, "Otherwise, the dying flames would have destroyed your feet altogether!" 

" It didn't protect me from da pain though. Den again, I didn't want it to do dat, but Yuge, after seeing dis, I just realized somethin': fire doesn't seem to compare to those broken beer bottles dat was sometimes littered on da floor in my house." 

"… You've got a point Jou." Said Yugi, shuddering at the thought of that trip to Jou's house. In Japan, it's a custom to remove one's shoes before entering a home, and with beer bottles made of glass, it was certainly a minefield of pain to Jou if the beatings from his drunken father weren't enough. 

Atem let out a sigh. _There's no turning back now, _He thought. Lifting his right foot now, he then moved it toward the shards. He pressed his full weight into that foot, and again, pain followed the sound of glass cracking and splintering. Again little red rivers of blood began to flow free. 

" Oh my God, I can't believe he's actually going to do this!" gasped Anzu. Otogi just stared in shock at the sight that was before him. Now completely on the glass, Atem stood in this position before he reached out to hold the Millennium Puzzle against his heart. _It hurts...!_ Atem thought, trying his best not to let a single tear leave his eyes, _Please Ra, I beg you! Give me the strength to **endure** this pain!_ Refusing to scream or cry, Atem gathered his courage and in a slow pace, his legs began to move. Crick, crick, crack, the sound of glass echoed loudly throughout the room as he walked. It was just like what the woman had told him; with each step he took upon this dangerous path of glass shards, their razor sharp edges and points stabbed him mercilessly from beneath his bare feet, and with each step, the pain grew more intense. Every time he looked down he saw his feet almost drenched in his own blood, flowing from his many wounds. Even in between some of his toes there were agonizing cuts that throbbed violently. And behind him, footprints formed from his blood were left behind in a trail. Throughout the whole ordeal, he heard his friends talking as they watched him. 

" You know guys," Anzu said, "I hate to admit it, but I really think that this path of broken glass is quite… well, beautiful." 

" Anzu has a point you guys." Yugi noted. "It really does has some kind of dangerous beauty." 

" Yeah," Otogi replied, breaking his own silence. "It means that its beauty distracts you from the very pain they cause. It's almost like falling in love." 

" Or maybe it's like life itself." Honda said. The group stared at the pathway and at Atem's tortured feet as they stepped on the shards. 

Yugi then said to his friends, "Have you noticed the bloody footprints that were left behind? The glass is stained by that trail, and yet… it still has its original beauty." 

" A marvel in itself…" replied Otogi, "I guess that's why broken glass fascinates people like us. It makes us want to watch, even as they tear through flesh. Just like now… we can't help but watch as our best friend, Pharaoh Atem, allows these sharp fragments of glass to slash him, to rip through the soles of his bare feet as he walks. Luckily, he's immortal even with a physical body. But that doesn't mean he's immune to injuries of the flesh, or pain for that matter." As the group looked onward, they could see that, to their shock, Atem was starting to waver. It was a slow torture for him, and right when he reached the middle of the path, the pain in his feet was starting to get overwhelming. So overwhelming in fact, that he actually thought of screaming. _I can't take this anymore!_ Atem thought, and lifted a foot toward the smooth floor on the side. 

" Oh no!" Jou said, "Is he gonna do what I thought he's gonna do?!" 

Anzu gasped in horror. "If he gets off the shards at this point, he'll fail the trial!" Yugi couldn't take this any longer. His friend needs their help! 

" ATEM, NO!" Yugi shouted at the top of his lungs. And Atem heard loud and clear. With his foot in the air and blood dripping on to the side of the platform, the pharaoh lingered-- and hesitated. Just as he was ready to give up, and place that foot away from the shards, he heard Yugi's voice. And thus, he remembered his friends. He looked up at them, still behind that invisible barrier. 

Jou shouted, "Hey Tem! I know it hurts to do it. And believe me, I experienced da very same pain myself, but you gotta keep walkin'!" 

" Jou's right, you gotta keep going!" Honda said. "Don't give up now! Bear the pain for a little while longer!" 

Atem only stared at them in hesitation. Then Otogi spoke up. "I understand that with pain as intense as this, you just want to fall down on your knees and cry, but you can't do that now! I know you can go through with this, I know you can go all the way!" 

" Please Atem," Anzu said, "You have to go on! If you can't do it for yourself, do it for us!" 

" Yeah, and if you can't do it for us, think of Nimea, and Paneshe! Do it for them!" Yugi said, tears in his eyes. Atem's eyes widened in realization. True, his friends were all terrified of the fact that their best friend was getting hurt. But he sensed that they were even more terrified about the possibility of his failure. Surely it would break their hearts if that would ever happen. And how could he forget his wife and son? He looked back to the shards… and glared. _No, I won't give up on them! They're depending on me!_ With new resolve, Atem willed his foot to step back onto the sharp crystal knife blades that are the shards of broken glass. As he did so, the shards cracked, and more bleeding cuts were made. _I have to be strong! No matter how deep they dig into my feet, no matter how much pain they inflict, I won't let it get the better of me! I **will ** cross these shards of glass to the end!_ Again the sound of glass under his bleeding feet echoed in the room, the music of his pain. Behind the invisible barrier, Yugi and the others stood in silence. Yugi sighed in relief, though still shocked at the painful ordeal his friend was going through. 

" Atem is so brave." He said, "He's willing to go barefoot and walk on broken glass for our freedom as well as his own." 

Otogi places a hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "Yugi, it's because of us that he has the determination to succeed. Even when he's alone, he thinks of our friendship and he thinks of the love of his family. We're the ones that give him the courage he needs. I mean, think about it. Our bond helped him save the world more times than not." 

" You're right Otogi. But still, I have to admire his courage and determination. He feels massive amounts of excruciating pain in his feet, but he keeps walking so he can free us from the Temple of Shadows." 

" I had to agree with Yugi on this one." Honda piped up, "And don't forget Jou here. He walked on fire in the name of love, and I don't even have the guts to do either of them." Yugi smiled briefly at Honda's comment, but then looked back at his friend. **C'mon Atem** , Yugi thought, **you can do this! I know you can!** Atem, in the meantime, was concentrating on enduring every step as much as he can. Even on top of his feet there were some wounds that were bleeding, but all of his other wounds were on the soles of his feet. Some small shards, in fact, seemed to have buried themselves so deep in his feet that they actually threatened to fracture the bones in a mere misstep. His legs soon started to become wobbly, growing weak with the loss of his blood. This fact alone heightened the risk of fractures. The worst part of it all, however, was the throbbing, stabbing pain, for it has intensified to the point which he could feel nothing else in his feet. And it was starting to crawl up his legs. Still, he trudged on, without a scream, determined to pass this test of glass even when the tears welled up in his eyes. Some of those tears managed to escape his eyes no matter how hard he tried to hold them back. His will would not be crushed that easily however. 

At last, he saw the place where the glass path ended. By then, he felt so weak, he didn't know if he could stand anymore. Crick, crick, crack, he went closer and closer... and then...! He was right by the edge of the platform and with his right foot, then his left, he leaves the treacherous, bloodstained path behind him. After two more steps away from the shards, his wobbly legs finally gave in and he collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily. Only then did he allow his tears to flow more freely. Searing pain continued to assault the soles of his injured feet, but he didn't care. He did it! He won! As he lay crying silently on the floor, the woman within the cloak approached him. Upon seeing the shadow that enclosed him, he looked up. 

"Well done." she said with a smile. "As promised you and your friends are free to go. But before you go, we need to treat those wounds. Unlike the other wounds you suffered on your body, we will not heal your feet with magic, at least not yet. They must be treated by hand lest there are stray shards that threaten to torture you-- for a very long time." Soon some priestesses arrived, and carefully picked up the King of Games. With the barrier gone, his friends soon rushed towards him as he was carried to the healing chambers. Once there, they watched as the priestesses washed the wounds on Atem's feet and prepared to bandage them. Atem winced as the damp cloth touched those wounds, and he emitted a hiss of agony as the stray pieces of glass were carefully removed, but although there were tears of pain flowing down his cheeks, he didn't scream. Yugi looked upon his other self, worried. 

"Atem…are you OK? You know I can't stand to see you hurt like this." Atem looks up at his friends with a small smile of appreciation. 

"Yugi, I'm glad you're concerned about me. Thank you for giving me the strength to pass this test." He said. 

" I appreciate the thanks, but we're all concerned about you." Replied Otogi. "Besides, walking barefoot on broken glass has really taken its toll on you!" 

Atem lowered his head. "You're right… it has taken its toll. I admit, my feet hurt terribly. All the injuries I've received… and the pain… it's still strong, it's close to unbearable. It's as if I were still treading upon those razors." Another hiss escaped his lips when another damp cloth made contact with his wounds, but just as quickly and gracefully he regained his calm-but-serious expression as he raised his head again. 

" In the end, however, all this torture I endured was worth freeing us all from this temple of shadows." 

" And for that, we're happy for you!" Anzu said, "but now you're the one who needs our help!" She turned towards the others, smirking. "Let's give those priestesses a hand, shall we?" 

" I'll get the bandages!" shouted an eager Honda. 

" I'm handling the glass." Otogi said, "I don't want to see any more cuts made!" 

Atem just stared dumbfounded at the scene unfolding. "Wha? Are you sure you guys want to pitch in like this?" 

Anzu stepped up, her gentle eyes giving comfort in the midst of his pain. "Atem, you were so brave to do what you just did. Please, let us help you heal. Then we can all get out of here... together." 

" Yeah, Tem," said Jou as he went to help the priestesses gather the medicinal herbs. "Give us a chance. We'll help you get better in no time!" He gives a thumbs-up and a goofy grin. "And da sooner you get better, da sooner we skidaddle!" 

It was then that Atem expressed a sense of relief…and gratitude. "Thank you." 


End file.
